SEASONAL PRATTLE
Fumetsu no Anata e has hit another one out of the park, a beautiful decaying finish to Gugu’s arc that feels right at home for Ooima’s style – marrying intimacy and investable character vignettes to a selfish quantity of sorrow. Twelve is the complete opposite of a beacon of untarnished positivity, it essentially preys on the heartstrings right away behind the bombastic veil of the Nokkers fight – appropriately seeding what’s to become of Rean and Gugu and ultimately being highly effective when it’s time to pull the trigger on that. Fumetsu no Anata e has always been a show where its emotional investment is never really an isolated acquisition, it’s almost always directly tied to the thematic weight it tends to play with – emphasizing the inevitable tragedies of living with honesty and hope as sometimes the world can be so senseless in its cruelty. All things eventually end, and living is its own reward. I will always respect stories that can tell that eloquently – good job Fumetsu no Anata e.
Shadows House (13)
“Easily one of Spring’s better offerings, a good harmony of sticky storytelling fundamentals and aesthetic attributes”
Shadows House concludes in good shape, treating us to a finale that gracefully tied its story together in a way that’s satisfying for the anime, all while making sure the knots aren’t too tight so there’s enough wiggle room to pursue further material if wanted. This last episode on a whole was structured neatly: Poetically, it’s one of the staff’s best craft outings on the series with quietly good shot composition and light play – especially on the tower before Kate takes flight – and it makes smart use of its well-positioned cast, boiling down to a final push against Edward with all the main shadows and dolls involved that felt earned and endearing from start to finish.
Even though it wasn’t as popular over the course of the season as it should have been given how it ended up as a polished and consistently rewarding watch – this series overall was easily one of Spring’s better offerings, a good harmony of sticky storytelling fundamentals and aesthetic attributes that were effective in conveying Shadow House’s narrative and did well in upholding its particular identity. I wish we got more shows like this every season.
Higehiro (13)
“Positive framing on the impact they had on each other’s lives was a pleasant compass to navigate it all across the finish line”
Finally wrapping up, Higehiro comes to an end – offering a relatively expected but sturdy conclusion in its wake. This finale was basically needed housekeeping for some of the lingering loose ends that remained with Sayu’s future being a prime interest, and with that, opening another opportunity to show off for the last time that Yoshida is just straight-up a good guy and one of the better LN protagonists in this kind of space. The big departure scene between Sayu and Yoshida was good, almost entirely because it successfully aligned with the show’s consistent push to defuse any devious pathways, and the following positive framing on the impact they had on each other’s lives was a pleasant compass to navigate it all across the finish line.
Despite highly overstated misconceptions of the nature of Sayu and Yoshida’s relationship very early on from a rather vocal crowd, Higehiro thankfully never veered into any ill sexual territory between them, and really, played the duo in a wholesome family-like light for most of its run backed behind pretty typical writing for its genre. With that said, Higehiro isn’t a work that’s “good” but on the same hand it isn’t so poor in its script or presentation where it’s concretely “bad” – realistically, it’s a show that teeters around average when it’s all said and done. We get a couple of shows of this caliber every season.
Osananajimi ga Zettai ni Makenai Love Comedy (12)
“Bland, terribly written and absolutely bankrupt in both common sense and creativity”
One can practically hear viewers rejoice, as finally, Osamake’s stench has officially dissipated, and the timeslot it’s been carelessly occupying for twelve straight weeks can be delivered to a series more worthy. This finale at its heart is extremely in rhythm with the heap of garbage that the series has served thus far; The “Childhood Girlfriend” cop-out from Kuro is yet another thick portion of terrible mental gymnastics that this show uses to continue its circus of a narrative – attempting to create what’s essentially a fluid, reserved relationship space between “just a friend” and “girlfriend” with all sorts of caveats attached that’s equally as idiotic and needlessly convoluted as it sounds on paper. And that’s seriously pretty much the entire finale aside from a minute or two – we’re either watching the “Childhood Girlfriend” designation come to life so the show can make an excuse for itself to prolong its harem and sidestep commitment, or were in a meta style recap of the very same topic in an effort to unpack it all. Either way, it’s awful down to the closing seconds as episode twelve wraps up.
Bland, terribly written and absolutely bankrupt in both common sense and creativity, in the end, Osamake was a very hefty dumpster – a series that succeeds only in getting worse. Realistically, the show should have never existed past episode three’s confession festival, but reason and logic are evidently not allowed here, and instead, only the odorous vomit of dirt quality “romcom” storytelling can exist.
***And that’s a wrap on the Spring season! With a weaker upcoming season and a rather wanted vacation, Seasonal Prattle will be on hiatus to enjoy the Summer. Hopefully, you all enjoyed this weekly coverage – our team appreciates the time you gave our little blogs 🙂